Theme: Social Significance of The Canterbury Tales contents

GLOSSARY

(E): Refers the reader to Endpapers, a select
glossary, which has fuller definitions of a few key
terms (see below).
A-back: backwards
A-bed: in bed
Amid: in the middle
A-night: in the night, at night
Anon: immediately
Array: clothing, finery
Apostle: St. Paul or one of Christ's immediate 12
followers.
Avaunt: boast
Aye: always, continually
Bear in hand: deceive
Belle chose: beautiful thing. See quaint 2 and
quoniam.
Bencitee Abbr. Lat: "Benedicite" = "Bless
(you)," "Bless (us!)"
The number of syllables varies with the line:
ben-stee, ben-sit-ee, ben-dis-i-tee,
ben-e-dis-i-tee
Bet: better
Blive: quickly
Boot(e): cure, benefit
Bren: burn
Buckler: shield
But (if): unless, only, except
Can: know how to, be able to
Cart: cart, chariot
Catel / chattel: goods
Certes: certainly
Cheap: v. to buy, n. market, supply
Churl: low born fellow. (E)
Clepe, clepen, cleped: call, be called, be named
Coat Armor: the cloth tunic worn over
armor and often decorated with the
knight's coat of arms to identify him.
Could: knew (how to), was able to.
Past tense of "can."
Cuckold: a man whose wife is unfaith-
-ful; a figure of fun. Among other things, he
is said to wear horns on his head.
Daungerous: cool, aloof (E)
Debt: in its conjugal sense, the obliga-
-tion of one married partner to sat-
-isfy the other's sexual need when required.
Deem, deemen: think, judge
Defend: forbid, denounce
Degree: social rank, age
Doom: judgement, court
Eft: again
Eke: also
Ever each: each one, everyone
Eyen: eyes
Fabliau: short naughty story (E)
Fain: glad
Fay: faith
Ferforthly: As far as, to that extent
Fetis: pretty, neat
Fine: finish, end
For-: this prefix is often "intensive."
"forwrapped": completely wrapped up.
"fordrunk": totally drunk
Forward: a bargain, agreement
Gan: began, but frequently indicates simply
past tense
Gay: cheerful, fine, well dressed
Gentle, gentleness: well bred. (E)
Gossip: literally a godparent or godchild, a
confidant. (E)
Hent: seize, seized
Hest: command(ment)
Hight: called, named
Ilke; th'ilke : the same, the very
Inn: house
Kind: nature, birth
Kirk: church
Leve: dear, beloved
Lever: rather
Lest: = List
Lewd: ignorant, lay (as in "laymen")
Likerous: lecherous. (E)
Like: please, "it liketh me" = "it pleases me"
List : wish, want; "Where God list: where God
wishes. "list me not to
write": I do not wish to write; "where him
list": where he pleases
Lordings: ladies and gentlemen (E)
Lorn: lost
Lust: see "List". Desire of any kind including

CANTERBURY TALES

sexual desire, pleasure. Also strong feelings,
like grief (See Kn.T. 3063)
Luxury (Lat. luxuria): lechery, sexual lust
Maugre(e): despite; "maugre his head (eyes)": in
spite of his wishes
Methinks, methinketh: it seems to me
Nas, Nis = N'as N'is = was not, is not
Ne: negative grammatical particle
Nill or n'ill = ne will = will not
Niste or n'iste = ne wiste = did not know. Past
tense of "n'ot."
Nones, nonce: the occasion. (E)
Not or n'ot = ne wot = does not know
Nould or n'ould = ne would = would not
Pardee: by God
Parson: parish priest, different from a friar or a
monk
Quaint (1) adj: odd, clever, devious, intricate
Quaint (2) noun: female genitals; same meaning
as next entry.
Quoniam: female genitals. (See quaint 2 and
belle chose)
Quit: repay, get even
Rede, redde: advice (noun), advise (verb)
Rown: whisper
Sely: happy, hapless, simpleminded, innocent
(E)
Sentence: view, opinion, judgement, meaning
Shrew: wretch, nasty person (male or female)
Silly: See "sely" (E)
Sikerly: certainly
Sith: since
Somedeal: some part, somewhat.
Sooth: truth, true
Starve: die (not necessarily of hunger),
Stint: stop
Suffer: Allow, endure
Swink(en): to work
Swinker: worker
Swithe: quickly, very
Targe: shield
Thee (verb): to prosper, succeed;
theech = thee ich = I prosper.
Also occurs as theek = thee ik
so theek = so may I prosper
Think: to think, to seem. Methinks = it seems to
me, them thought = it seemed to them
Thilke: = the ilke = the same, the very
Tooth: taste, consumption; "colt's
tooth" :
youthful taste
Troth: truth, word of honor
Trow : guess, think
Tway: two
Unethe(s) or Unnethe(s): barely, scarcely
Upright: face up
Very: true, real, absolute
Villain: man of lowest social order
Villainy: conduct thought to be typical of a
"villain," ignoble or shameful
behavior
Ween(en): think; past t. "wend" = thought;
"they wenden": they thought. Not to be
confused with the next verb in this list.
Wenden : to wend (one's way), "they wend": they
go.
Wher(e): whether, wherever
Whilom: once upon a time
Wight: creature, person
Wimple: a garment of soft cloth worn by women
and which covered the
neck and part of the chin and forehead.
Past participle of the verb is "Y-wimpled."
Wisly: certainly
Wiste: knew; its negative is "n'iste" = did not
know
Wit, Witen: knowledge, to know. (E)
Wood: mad
Wot: knows, (negative: n'ot) = does not know
Y-: a prefix generally indicating past participle
Ywis: certainly, indeed